Slide/fold/EZ entry seat mechanism

ABSTRACT

A vehicle seat assembly (20) attachable to a vehicle floor (21) has a seat back support frame foldable over a seat support frame and at least two seat track assemblies (22, 22&#39;) which provide for controlled adjustment of the seat assembly relative to the vehicle floor. An associated recliner mechanism (32) has a single lever acting as a control handle to permit controlled adjustment of the inclination angle of the backrest, to allow for forward dumping of the backrest over the seat support frame (29) and to permit forward downward folding of the seat support frame (29), as part of a parallelogram mechanism, thereby to permit collapsing of the seat support structure toward the vehicle floor (21) and forward dumping of the seat back, thereby to provide more volume for cargo within the vehicle, without the need for removing the seat assembly (20). An E-Z entry mechanism may also be incorporated into the assembly.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/047,702, filed May 27, 1997.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a seat apparatus for a vehicle, and inparticular to a seat apparatus with an E-Z entry mechanism.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Passenger cars and utility type vehicles, such as mini-vans, stationwagons, hatchbacks, sport-utility vehicles, and the like, are commonlyconstructed such that the backs of one or more of the vehicle seatassemblies may be folded forward so that the seat back is substantiallyhorizontal (sometimes known as dumping), thus permitting luggage and thelike to be stowed on top of the seat back. It is preferable that thevehicle seat assemblies also be able to be lowered closer to the vehiclefloor when the seat back is folded, in order to increase the headroomabove the folded seat back. In addition, it is sometimes desirable, forthe seat, e.g. a front seat, or a second row seat in a mini-van to bemoved forward in order to temporarily provide more space behind theseat. Such is the case with seats with so-called E-Z entry features.Furthermore, it is common for vehicle seats, particularly front vehicleseats, to have a reclining mechanism for the seat back. Severalmechanisms are known for controlling the features of reclining seatbacks, dumping of seat backs, lowering of the seat assembly as the seatback is dumped, and fore and aft movement of seat assemblies. ToApplicant's knowledge, none provide for a mechanism with a singlecontrolling means, e.g. a lever, to control all four features, and anindependent control over the reclining feature.

E-Z entry mechanisms are known, wherein the seat track lock isautomatically released to allow forward sliding of the seat assemblywithin the vehicle upon dumping of the seat back support. Various typesof E-Z entry mechanisms have been patented, and most of these mechanisminclude a biasing spring which automatically pulls the entire seatassembly forward upon release of the track lock through the agency ofthe E-Z entry mechanism. An example of one such patented E-Z entrysystem is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,101,169, issued Jul. 18, 1978. Thesemechanisms are particularly prevalent in the prior art with respect totwo door vehicles, so as to be actuated and provide more room for entryor egress of a passenger to the rear seat area of the vehicle. They are,however, also, of renewed interest in recent years in respect ofmini-van applications.

It is also known in the art to mount the seat support to the vehiclefloor by means of a parallelogram leg mechanism, such that the seatcushion can be selectively translated forwardly and downwardly towardthe floor, in combination with dumping of the seat back support frame inorder to provide more room for the storage of cargo on top of dumpedseat back, for example as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,349, issued Jan.9, 1996.

Furthermore, Takeda, et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,087, which issuedJun. 18, 1996, disclose a rear seat assembly which has a mechanism forsimultaneously moving the seat back forward and the seat cushion forwardand downward, so that the forward part of the seat pivots about alinkage and is able to drop into a well. The assembly does not have thefeatures of a reclining seat, or means for moving the seat fore and aft,and thus there is no suggestion of any kind of mechanism suitable forcontrol of such features in addition to the features disclosed.

Ainsworth et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,206, which issued Jan. 28,1997, discloses a reclining seat which may be moved fore and aft ontracks which are mounted on a vehicle floor. The seat is equipped with aseat latch mechanism and an E-Z entry latch release mechanism forforward translational movement of the vehicle seat. The seat bottom issecured to the upper rails of the track assembly for fore and aft seatmovement. The E-Z entry latch release mechanism is operably connected tothe seat latch mechanism. Upon actuation of a dump handle, unlocking ofthe seat back latch permits forward pivoting of the seat back to adumped position. The forward pivotal movement of the seat back causesthe E-Z entry seat latch mechanism to be unlatched, allowing an assistspring to urge the seat to a forward position. There is no suggestion ofa seat support structure which can be downwardly and forwardlytranslated to a stowed seat position or of a mechanism for controllingsuch movement.

Kargilis et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,931, which issued Nov. 5, 1996,discloses a seat for a motor vehicle having a horizontal seat cushionand an upright seat back supported on a longitudinally adjustablebi-level seat support frame. Front and rear seat track assemblies areprovided at different elevations. A pair of front links are pivotallyconnected to the seat cushion and the seat frame. The rear portion ofthe seat is pivotally mounted to a rear track assembly latchingmechanism. A seat back latch assembly is provided to lock the seatcomponents in an upright position, and may be unlocked by means of anoperating handle. Operation of the handle also permits pivoting movementof the links and thus downward and forward movement of the seat cushionto a stowed position. A separate handle is required to move the seat onthe track assembly. Additionally, Kargilis et al. do not teach the useof a selectively adjustable reclining mechanism for the seat back, butrather employ a simple seat back latch.

There is a need for a cost effective, user friendly mechanism whichpermits a single control means to effect E-Z entry coupled with loweringof the seat assembly, with an optional independent control over a seatreclining feature.

While these functional features are individually known, to Applicant'sknowledge there is no art which suggests or teaches the combination offorward translation of the entire seat assembly upon forward dumping ofthe seat back support frame, together with a downward translation of theseat support member toward the vehicle floor upon activation of the E-Zentry feature. Moreover, Applicant is not aware of any such mechanismwhich can achieve this composite functionally upon actuation of a singlehandle by the user, and utilizing a single recliner mechanism, or singlerecliner position latch. It is believed that any similar prior artmechanisms require the manipulation by the user of at least two separatecontrol handles connected to two separate latching devices, one each toseparately activate the functions firstly of dumping of the seat backsupport to actuate forward translation of seat assembly throughactivation of an E-Z entry mechanism; and secondly for downwardtranslation of vehicle seat support frame relative to vehicle floor toobtain a "load floor" configuration.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention provides a vehicle seat assembly,attachable to a vehicle floor, which vehicle seat assembly has a seatsupport frame, a seat back support frame, at least two seat trackassemblies, at least two rear supports and a seat control assembly,wherein:

(a) each seat track assembly comprises a first track section attachableto the vehicle floor, and extending from front to rear when installed onthe vehicle floor, a second track section which is slidably engaged withthe first track section, and a track locking assembly having tracklocking means for locking first and second track sections together atany position from a forward position of the second track section to arearward position of the second track section;

(b) each said rear supports are fixedly attached to a rear portion of asecond track section and a bottom end of said seat back support frame issupported on the rear support, at a seat back pivot;

(c) a front of the seat support frame is supported by front links, eachof which are pivotable at an upper end of the front link about the frontof the seat support frame and are pivotable at a lower end of the frontlink about a front end of the second track section, and a rear of thesaid support frame is supported at a rear seat support pivot, said rearsupport pivot being attached to the seat back support frame between theseat back pivot and a head end of the seat back support frame; and

(d) the seat control assembly has i) seat back locking means to lock theseat back support frame so that the seat back support frame is in asubstantially upright position, ii) locking release means to release theseat back locking means so that the seat back support frame is able topivot forwardly into a dump position and thus cause forward movement ofthe seat support frame and forward and downward movement of the front ofthe seat support frame about the upper pivots of the front links, andwherein the locking release means is interconnected with the tracklocking release means, for unlocking the track locking means when theseat back support frame is pivoted forwardly.

In one embodiment, the seat back locking means is able to lock the seatback support frame at the seat back pivot.

In a further embodiment, the seat back pivot has a reclining mechanismassociated therewith.

In another embodiment, the seat back locking means has a rotary reclinerwhich has inner and outer rotatable halves, said rotary recliner havinga rotational axis coincident with the seat back pivot, said innerrotatable half being fixedly attached to the back support frame and theouter rotatable half being fixedly attached to a rear support, and theseat back locking means is able to lock the inner and outer halves inpredetermined positions, and wherein the inner rotatable half hasintermediate linkage means which 1) in a first instance permits limitedforward rotation of the seat back support frame without causing thetrack locking means to unlock the first and second track sections, and2) in a second instance, upon further forward rotation of the seat backsupport frame is connected to a track locking linkage which causes thetrack locking means to unlock the first and second track sections.

In yet another embodiment, the seat control assembly has a reclinercontrol crank which is connected to the seat back locking means at theseat back pivot, the recliner control crank being operatively connectedto an E-Z entry control handle, and the intermediate linkage comprises alink member with a first end attached to the inner rotatable half and asecond end operatively attached to the track locking means, said linkmember having a lost motion mechanism therein, said lost motionpermitting rotation of the seat back support frame in the firstinstance.

In another embodiment, the vehicle seat assembly additionally has a seatreclining control assembly which has recliner actuating means foroperating the seat back locking means in the first instance anddisconnection means for making the track unlocking linkage inoperative,said seat reclining control assembly being independent of the seatcontrol assembly.

In a further embodiment, the seat control assembly has a reclinercontrol crank which is connected to the seat back locking means at theseat back pivot, said recliner control crank being operatively connectedto an E-Z entry control handle, and the intermediate linkage comprisesan interlock link member with a first end attached to the innerrotatable half and second end which has engaging means for engaging witha hook of a pivotable interlock crank, said interlock crank beingoperatively connected to the track locking means;

said vehicle seat assembly additionally having a seat reclining controlassembly which comprises a first class recliner lever which has a firstarm and a second arm between which is a recliner lever pivot, said firstarm being a manually operable handle and the second arm beingcooperatively engaged with the interlock link member such that rotationof the recliner lever in a first direction removes the engaging meansfrom being able to engage with the hook, said first arm having pivotallyattached thereto a recliner actuation link with a lost motion mechanismat an end distal to the first arm, said recliner actuation link lostmotion being operatively connected to the recliner control crank suchthat movement of the engaging means away from the hook occurs during thelost motion, and after there is no further lost motion, the reclineractuation link acts upon the recliner control crank in order to unlockthe rotary recliner, said recliner actuation link and recliner leverbeing biased to return to their original positions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a vehicle seatassembly of the present invention attached to the floor of a vehicle,with the seat back support frame and the seat support frame of theassembly each shown in the normal operating position.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view from the rear left of part of the vehicleseat assembly of FIG. 1, showing seat control mechanisms.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the vehicle seat assembly, seenfrom the left side, with the seat and seat back in the normal operatingposition.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the vehicle seat assembly of FIG.3, a recliner control lever being disengaged from an interlock for theE-Z entry control mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the vehicle seat assembly of FIG.3, showing, in phantom, the seat back being reclined as a result ofactuation of the recliner control lever.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the vehicle seat assembly of FIG.5, showing the seat back being moved forward towards the dump position.

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the vehicle seat assembly of FIG.5, showing the seat and seat back in a load floor configuration.

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the vehicle seat assembly of FIG.3, showing initial movement of an E-Z entry control handle.

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the vehicle seat assembly of FIG.8, showing the recliner control lever being engaged with the interlockfor the E-Z entry control mechanism, and the seat back being movedforward towards the dump position.

FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of the vehicle seat assembly of FIG.9, showing the seat and the seat back moving towards the load floorposition and the seat assembly moving forward on tracks from its rearposition (shown in ghost outline) to its forward E-Z entry position.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view from the front right of a left side trackmechanism of the vehicle seat assembly of FIG. 1, showing track releasemechanisms.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is shown a preferred embodiment of thevehicle seat assembly 20 according to the present invention, installedon a vehicle floor 21 (partially shown) of a vehicle (not shown). Theseat assembly 20 is mounted on a left track assembly 22 and a righttrack assembly 22'. Left track assembly 22 is secured to the vehiclefloor 21 by front floor mounting bracket 24 and rear floor mountingbracket 25. Similarly right track assembly 22' is secured to floor 21 bysimilar floor mounting brackets 24' and 25'.

The track assemblies are best seen and understood by reference to FIGS.1, 2 and 11. Similar members in the right and left hand track assemblieshave similar numbers except that numerals for the right hand trackassembly have a prime after the numeral, e.g. 22 (left side), 22' (rightside). For clarity of most of the description, only the left side isdescribed, even though reference may be made to FIG. 2 which shows theright side, unless otherwise indicated.

The seat track assemblies 22 and 22' may be used to adjust the positionof the entire seat assembly in the fore and aft directions. Seat trackassembly 22 has a lower seat track section 22a which is bolted orotherwise affixed to the vehicle floor, e.g. through front and rearfloor mounting brackets 24, 25. An upper seat track section 22b slideswithin the lower track 22a in operatively confined relation. Aselectively engageable track lock 23 controls the selective sliding ofthe upper track 22b and lower track 22a track sections relative to eachother.

A user may unlock the track lock 23 for selective adjustment of the foreand aft positioning of the seat assembly by grasping handlebar 26 andpulling same upwardly, which in turn causes pivoting of an end 27 of thehandlebar 26 into operative contact with a track lock actuation member31, thus releasing the track lock mechanism 23. Spring 35 is connectedat one end to rear plate 64, which is attached to the rear of uppertrack 22b, and at the other end to a lug 37 on front floor mountingbracket 24. Release of the track lock 23 allows the tensile force inspring 35 to pull upper track 22b forward relative to lower track 22a.Such an intersliding track assembly is known. It will be understood thatother, mechanically equivalent, track assemblies may be used within thescope of the present invention.

The vehicle seat assembly shown in FIG. 1 has a seat back support frame28, a seat support frame 29, the two seat track assemblies 22 and 22',at least two rear support brackets 30 and 30', and a seat controlassembly, which will be described in more detail hereinafter.

The inclination of seat back support frame 28 is adjustable with respectto the seat support frame 29 by means of a rotary recliner mechanism 32.A seat back 33 (not shown in FIG. 1 but shown in FIGS. 2 to 10) may beconventionally mounted on the seat back frame 28, and a seat cushion 34(not shown in FIG. 1 but shown in FIGS. 2 to 10) may be conventionallymounted on seat support frame 29. Recliner mechanism 32 is rigidlyaffixed by its outer half 32a to rear support bracket 30. Rear supportbracket 30, in turn, is rigidly affixed to the rear of upper track 22b.

The inner half 32b of the rotary recliner 32 is able to rotate axiallywith respect to outer half 32a of the recliner 32. Inner half 32b isaffixed to the seat back support frame 28 through a mounting plate 50,which plate 50 is rigidly attached to a side of the seat back supportframe 28. The recliner mechanism 32 may be selectively actuated by meansof a rocker lever 36, which is operatively connected to the recliningmechanism 32 for movement from a locked configuration to an unlockedconfiguration.

As will be seen most clearly in FIG. 2, rocker lever 36 is a first classlever which pivots about a pivot pin 38. Rocker lever 36 has an arm 36awhich is a handle portion, and a thruster arm 36b which is on theopposing side of pivot pin 38 from arm 36a. The end of thruster arm 36b,distal from pivot pin 38, has a follower 39 attached thereto. When arm36a is lifted upwards, follower 39 is caused to rotate about pivot pin38 and push on interlock link member 40. Clevis 41 extends around rearsupport bracket 31. One arm of clevis 41 is fixedly attached to theinner rotatable half 32b of the rotary recliner 32. The other arm ofclevis 41 is attached to the upper end of interlock link member 40 bypivot pin 42. The lower end of interlock link member 40 has an interlockpin 65 which, under certain circumstances, may be engaged with latchhook portion 43 of interlock crank 44. Interlock link member 40 isbiased to be in contact with follower 39 by spring 45, which is attachedat one end by pin 46 to rear support bracket 31 and at the other end bylug 47 to interlock link member 40.

Interlock crank 44 is pivoted about pivot pin 38 and is operativelyattached to an E-Z entry track lock crank 49 by an E-Z entry connectinglink 48.

A lower end of recliner actuation link 51 is attached to the rockerlever 36 at pivot point 52. Pivot point 52 is between pivot pin 38 andthe end of arm 36a distal from pivot pin 38. Recliner actuation link 51has a lost motion slot 53 adjacent its upper end. Recliner actuationrocker lever 36 is biased to be in a downward position, against stop pin56, by spring 57, which is attached at one end to stop pin 56 and at theother end to lug 58. Lug 58 is attached to recliner actuation link 51.Lost motion slot 53, in recliner actuation link 51, is dimensioned andotherwise adapted to make urging contact with a drive pin 54 positionedon an end of recliner control crank 55. Recliner control crank 55 ispivotable about axis 59 and operates a conventional locking andunlocking mechanism (not shown) internal to the rotary reclinermechanism 32. Axis 59 is coaxial with the rotary axes for outer andinner halves 32a and 32b, respectively.

As indicated above, inner half 32b of rotary recliner 32 is affixed tothe seat back support frame 28 through a mounting plate 50. Mountingplate 50 is rigidly attached in a conventional manner, e.g. rivetted orbolted, to a side of the seat back support frame 28. As will be seenmore clearly in FIG. 1, the rear of seat support frame 29 is attached torear seat mounting bracket 60. Rear seat mounting bracket 60 ispivotally attached to mounting plate 50 at an axis which is above therotational axis 59 of rotary recliner mechanism 32, i.e. at pivot 66.

The front of seat support frame 29 is connected to the front portion ofupper tracks 22b and 22b' by means of pivoting front leg members 61 and61', respectively. Front leg member 61 is pivotally attached to seatsupport frame 29 at upper pivot 62 and pivotally attached to upper track32b at lower pivot 63.

Operation of the reclining mechanism through manipulation of therecliner actuation rocker lever 36 is now described with particularreference to FIGS. 3 to 7. When a seat occupant wishes to adjust theinclination angle of the seat back 33 within the range of occupiablepositions, the occupier grasps the free end of recliner actuation rockerlever 36 and pulls same upwardly. The rocker lever 36 rotates aboutpivot pin 38, and the first part of such rotation of the rocker lever36, e.g. typically up to about 15°, (see FIG. 4) causes follower 39 topush against interlock link member 40. Interlock link member 40 isthereby pivoted about pivot pin 42 and so causes interlock pin to bepushed away from engagement with latch hook 43.

It will be noted that during this first motion of recliner actuationrocker lever 36, e.g. over the first 15° of rotary motion of the lever36, there is no release of the recliner mechanism 32. This is because,although raising arm 36a causes recliner actuation link 51 to be lifted,the positioning and size of lost motion slot 53 ensures that reclineractuation link 51 does not push on drive pin 54. It is only uponrotation of the recliner actuation rocker lever 36 beyond 15° of saidclockwise rotation that recliner actuation link 51 is able to exertpressure on drive pin 54 to cause rotation of recliner control crank 55.It will be understood that the figure of 15° is given for illustrativepurposes only, and the actual permitted degree of rotation of lever 36may be different, if desired.

With further movement of recliner actuation rocker lever 36 (see FIG.5), e.g. in the next 30° of rotation of the rocker lever 36, therecliner actuation link 51 pushes the recliner control crank 55 aboutaxis 59, by means of engagement of the lower end of slot 53 with drivepin 54. Such movement of control crank 55, about axis 59, causesunlocking of the recliner mechanism 32, which in turn allows for manualadjustment of the inclination angle of the seat back 33 by the occupant.As shown in FIG. 5, the seat back 33 may be moved from the positionshown in phantom to that shown by solid lines (indicated by arrow D), orvice-versa. Release by the occupant of the recliner actuation rockerlever 36 allows rocker lever 36 to return to its original position bymeans of biasing spring 57. Release of recliner actuation rocker lever36 thus causes the rotary recliner mechanism 32 to once again lock up atthe newly selected position of the seat back 33.

It will be appreciated that, during rotation of the seat back 33, theinner half 32b of the rotary recliner mechanism 32 rotates with the seatback support frame 28 about the same horizontal rotational axis 59. Thisrotary motion is translated to the interlock link member 40 by means ofclevis 41, which is attached to the inner rotatable half 32b of therotary recliner. In this manner, rotation of the inner half 32b of therecliner 32 causes the interlock link member 40 to move in an arcuatepath centred about the axis of recliner mechanism 32. It will be notedthat the axis of rotation of interlock link member 40 is the same axisof rotation of the seat back support frame 28. As the interlock pin 65of the interlock link member 40 has been pushed clear of urginginteraction with the latch hook member 43 of the interlock crank 44during the initial 15° of rotation by the seat occupant, such rotationof the inner half 32b will have no effect upon the E-Z entry releasemechanism of which the interlock crank 44 forms a part. Thus, anoccupant, when manipulating the reclining mechanism by means of rockerlever 36, the E-Z entry mechanism cannot be triggered inadvertently.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show the seat back 33 being tipped forward in thedirection of arrow E, toward the dump position. It will be clear thatwhen an occupant is in the seat, seat back 33 cannot move into the dumpposition. It will also be seen that when seat back 33 is tipped forward,seat support frame 29 and associated seat cushion 34 are caused to moveforwardly. The cause of such motion is the fact that rear mounting seatbracket 50 is pivotally attached to seat back support frame 28 at pivotpoint 66 (best seen in FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 6), and movement of rear seat33 forwardly causes pivot point 66 to move forwardly. Horizontal andvertical movement of seat cushion 34 relative to seat track assembly 22is then controlled by pivoting actions about pivot point 66, upper pivot62, lower pivot 61 and recliner rotational axis 59. These four pivotpoints are at the corners of a parallelogram.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the seat backsupport frame 28 is able to be rotated by the user for forward folding(see FIG. 6), rearward reclining (see FIG. 5), or even for forwarddumping of the seat back 33 (assuming that there is no occupant in theseat--see FIG. 7).

When the seat assembly is in the dumped position, the recliner actuationrocker lever 36 may be returned to its initial lowered position, as therotary recliner 32 is held open by a known internal feature (not shown)until the seat assembly reaches the "load floor" position of FIG. 7.When the seat assembly is in the load floor position, the recliner 32automatically locks in a known manner, and thereafter requires furtheruser activation of the recliner actuation rocker lever 36 to unlock themechanism.

Dumping may be required for easy access of a passenger behind the seatassembly, or with respect to station wagons, mini-vans or so-calledsport-utility vehicles, to use the rear surface of the seat back as aload floor to support cargo within the vehicle.

A key feature to understanding the composite motion of the present E-Zentry feature is the parallelogram type mounting of the seat supportframe 29 to the upper track section 22b as described hereinabove. Sucharrangement allows the seat support frame to translate forwardly anddownwardly towards the vehicle door upon "unlocking" of a single pointof the parallelogram.

In the embodiment shown, the recliner mechanism 32 controls thisunlocking feature for all seat functions in the manner hereinafterdescribed in more detail. As will be understood, the recliner mechanism32 can be replaced by a single latch mechanism (not shown). Such a latchmechanism would, in effect, provide a non-adjustable recliner mechanismhaving only one locked position. Such an alternative embodiment remainswithin the scope of the present invention.

The activation of the E-Z entry function according to the invention willnow be described with particular reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 8-11.

Cable link 68 is attached at its upper end to E-Z entry handle 67 and atits lower end to the distal end of the recliner control crank 55, i.e.adjacent to drive pin 54. Rotation by a user of the E-Z entry handle 67in the direction of arrow "A" (see FIG. 8) causes rotation of reclinercontrol crank 55 by means of interconnecting cable link 68, or othersuitable means. This action, in turn unlocks rotary recliner 32. Becauseof the presence of lost motion slot 53, such movement of the reclinercontrol crank 55 will not cause any movement of the recliner actuationlink 51. With the rotary recliner 32 thus opened, the seat back support29 may be pushed forward. The seat back 33 and seat cushion 34 maythereafter be moved in a forwardly and downwardly motion about theparallelogram pivot linkages as described hereinabove in relation to theoperation of the recliner mechanism. However, interlock pin 65, locatedat the lower end of the interlock link member 40 is now aligned to catchthe latch hook 43 in the interlock crank 44, as shown in FIG. 9.

Continued forward rotation of the seat back support 29 about rotaryrecliner 32 from the configuration of FIG. 9, i.e. in the direction ofarrow F, thus causes rotation of the interlock crank 44 about pivot pin38, which, in turn, causes a pulling on E-Z entry connecting link 48,e.g. a rod or cable. Pulling on E-Z entry connecting link 48, in turn,causes rotation of E-Z entry track lock crank 49. This action causesactuation of track lock actuation members 69 which are associated withtrack assembly 22, so that the track lock 23 is released. Left and righttrack locks are simultaneously controlled by means of connecting rod 70,which is coaxial with the rotational axis of E-Z entry track lock crank49. Forward pivoting of the seat back support 29 (as shown in FIG. 10)thus completely unlocks the track lock mechanisms 23 and 23', and allowsthe seat to slide forward in the direction of arrow F, being pulled by alongitudinally oriented spring member 35, to the full forward E-Z entryposition as shown in FIG. 10.

Thus, the illustrated seat assembly deploys only one single lockingmechanism, i.e. the rotary recliner 32, in conjunction with aparallelogram type seat mechanism to achieve the composite functionalitydisclosed herein. Accordingly, the full E-Z entry forward sliding anddownwardly translated movement of the seat support member can beobtained through actuation of a single handle 67. A known form of slavecable (not shown) preferably runs between the recliner control crank 55of the rotary recliner 32 and the corresponding control crank of therotary recliner 32' optionally located on the opposite outer side of theseat back support frame 28 to co-ordinate the locking and recliningaction of the two rotary recliners 32 and 32' one with the other, as isknown in the art.

It will be understood that there may be variations of various componentsof the described seat assembly without departing from the essentials ofthe invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle seat assembly, attachable to a vehiclefloor, which vehicle seat assembly has a seat support frame, a seat backsupport frame, at least two seat track assemblies, at least two rearsupports and a seat control assembly, wherein:(a) each seat trackassembly comprises a first track section attachable to the vehiclefloor, and extending from front to rear when installed on the vehiclefloor, a second track section which is slidably engaged with the firsttrack section, and a track locking assembly having track locking meansfor locking first and second track sections together at any positionfrom a forward position of the second track section to a rearwardposition of the second track section; (b) each said rear supports arefixedly attached to a rear portion of a second track section and abottom end of said seat back support frame is supported on the rearsupport, at a seat back pivot; (c) a front of the seat support frame issupported by front links, each of which are pivotable at an upper end ofthe front link about the front of the seat support frame and arepivotable at a lower end of the front link about a front end of thesecond track section, and a rear of the said support frame is supportedat a rear seat support pivot, said rear support pivot being attached tothe seat back support frame between the seat back pivot and a head endof the seat back support frame; and (d) the seat control assembly has i)seat back locking means to lock the seat back support frame so that theseat back support frame is in a substantially upright position, ii)locking release means to release the seat back locking means so that theseat back support frame is able to pivot forwardly into a dump positionand thus cause forward movement of the seat support frame and forwardand downward movement of the front of the seat support frame about theupper pivots of the front links, and wherein the locking release meansis interconnected with the track locking release means, for unlockingthe track locking means when the seat back support frame is pivotedforwardly.
 2. A vehicle seat assembly according to claim 1, wherein theseat back locking means is able to lock the seat back support frame atthe seat back pivot.
 3. A vehicle seat assembly according to claim 2,wherein the seat back pivot has a reclining mechanism associatedtherewith.
 4. A vehicle seat assembly according to claim 3, wherein theseat back locking means has a rotary recliner which has inner and outerrotatable halves, said rotary recliner having a rotational axiscoincident with the seat back pivot, said inner rotatable half beingfixedly attached to the back support frame and the outer rotatable halfbeing fixedly attached to a rear support, and the seat back lockingmeans is able to lock the inner and outer halves in predeterminedpositions, and wherein the inner rotatable half has intermediate linkagemeans which 1) in a first instance permits limited forward rotation ofthe seat back support frame without causing the track locking means tounlock the first and second track sections, and 2) in a second instance,upon further forward rotation of the seat back support frame isconnected to a track locking linkage which causes the track lockingmeans to unlock the first and second track sections.
 5. A vehicle seatassembly according to claim 4, wherein the seat control assembly has arecliner control crank which is connected to the seat back locking meansat the seat back pivot, the recliner control crank being operativelyconnected to an E-Z entry control handle, and the intermediate linkagecomprises a link member with a first end attached to the inner rotatablehalf and a second end operatively attached to the track locking means,said link member having a lost motion mechanism therein, said lostmotion permitting rotation of the seat back support frame in the firstinstance.
 6. A vehicle seat assembly according to claim 5, wherein thevehicle seat assembly additionally has a seat reclining control assemblywhich has recliner actuating means for operating the seat back lockingmeans in the first instance and disconnection means for making the trackunlocking linkage inoperative, said seat reclining control assemblybeing independent of the seat control assembly.
 7. A vehicle seatassembly according to claim 4, wherein the vehicle seat assemblyadditionally has a seat reclining control assembly which has reclineractuating means for operating the seat back locking means in the firstinstance and disconnection means for making the track unlocking linkageinoperative, said seat reclining control assembly being independent ofthe seat control assembly.
 8. A vehicle seat assembly according to claim7, wherein the seat control assembly has a recliner control crank whichis connected to the seat back locking means at the seat back pivot, saidrecliner control crank being operatively connected to an E-Z entrycontrol handle, and the intermediate linkage comprises an interlock linkmember with a first end attached to the inner rotatable half and secondend which has engaging means for engaging with a hook of a pivotableinterlock crank, said interlock crank being operatively connected to thetrack locking means;said vehicle seat assembly additionally having aseat reclining control assembly which comprises a first class reclinerlever which has a first arm and a second arm between which is a reclinerlever pivot, said first arm being a manually operable handle and thesecond arm being cooperatively engaged with the interlock link membersuch that rotation of the recliner lever in a first direction removesthe engaging means from being able to engage with the hook, said firstarm having pivotally attached thereto a recliner actuation link with alost motion mechanism at an end distal to the first arm, said reclineractuation link lost motion being operatively connected to the reclinercontrol crank such that movement of the engaging means away from thehook occurs during the lost motion, and after there is no further lostmotion, the recliner actuation link acts upon the recliner control crankin order to unlock the rotary recliner, said recliner actuation link andrecliner lever being biased to return to their original positions.
 9. Avehicle seat assembly according to claim 4, wherein the seat controlassembly has a recliner control crank which is connected to the seatback locking means at the seat back pivot, said recliner control crankbeing operatively connected to an E-Z entry control handle, and theintermediate linkage comprises an interlock link member with a first endattached to the inner rotatable half and second end which has engagingmeans for engaging with a hook of a pivotable interlock crank, saidinterlock crank being operatively connected to the track lockingmeans;said vehicle seat assembly additionally having a seat recliningcontrol assembly which comprises a first class recliner lever which hasa first arm and a second arm between which is a recliner lever pivot,said first arm being a manually operable handle and the second arm beingcooperatively engaged with the interlock link member such that rotationof the recliner lever in a first direction removes the engaging meansfrom being able to engage with the hook, said first arm having pivotallyattached thereto a recliner actuation link with a lost motion mechanismat an end distal to the first arm, said recliner actuation link lostmotion being operatively connected to the recliner control crank suchthat movement of the engaging means away from the hook occurs during thelost motion, and after there is no further lost motion, the reclineractuation link acts upon the recliner control crank in order to unlockthe rotary recliner, said recliner actuation link and recliner leverbeing biased to return to their original positions.
 10. A vehicle seatassembly according to claim 3, wherein the vehicle seat assemblyadditionally has a seat reclining control assembly which has reclineractuating means for operating the seat back locking means in the firstinstance and disconnection means for making the track unlocking linkageinoperative, said seat reclining control assembly being independent ofthe seat control assembly.